21, 22 & 23 Books

Just before leaving on vacation I read "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. Molly had read it first and passed her borrowed copy on to me. Everyone kept saying how slowly it started out and I can sort of see what they mean but I didn't feel at all disappointed. I plowed through it in no time. When I was done all I wanted to do was read the second one, which I carried around Target with me for about an hour before putting it back on the shelf. Spending $15 on a book is just not in the budget at the moment. So I started the last book sitting on my bedside table, only to not be able to concentrate on it. I think there is a child about to die in it and I'm not sure I can handle that. Even so, I packed that book with me for my trip along with "Pride and Prejudice" which is always a great read.

Then I got to the airport with nearly 2 hours to kill. What do they sell in abundance at the airport? Books. Glorious books. There is was on the shelf taunting me with it's glorious red-orange cover, "The Girl Who Played with Fire". I wanted it SO much! Again my hand reached out and pulled the trade paperback version from the shelf. Again I walked around a store wanting it and trying to justify the expense when low and behold my eyes caught sight of the mass market paperback version. Tentatively I turned it over to check the price.... $8. WAHOO! Now that I could much more easily swallow into my tiny budget.

The flight and the first days of the trip were filled with reading "...Played with Fire" and I liked it just as much as the first one. All too soon it was done and again I wanted. Oh how I wanted the third book "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". Each time I saw it I would give it's silver papered hardcover goodness a caress and sigh a sad little sigh. An $8 paperback is one thing but a $27 hardcover!!! That was out of the question. I had a book I'd borrowed from Liz and it would have to do. But oh how it just didn't cut it.

Then a miracle occurred. My dad and Liz went to the Mall of America to grab some glorious tax free clothing and when they returned I was surprised with my dearest wish "...Hornet's Nest"! They said it was a belated birthday present and I nearly cried. I'm such a dork but I don't care. Last night I stayed up late until I was finished and now I am sad once again. So so sad. But oh so thankful that I got to read the three books in quick succession and all for only $8 out of my pocket! Not too shabby.

Thanks Stieg for writing these books. I'm very sad that I will not get to read another book from you. May you rest in peace.

Let's try it again

After reading "Pickles & Dimes" comment on my last post I decided to take Tally with me again on my run. She used the word "condition" and it made me realize that I really wanted to run with Tally so I just needed to get us both in the condition to handle it. Perhaps it's that the second time is the charm, but this time went better for us both. Perhaps this time we both knew what to expect so it was easier. I took the runs a bit slower than I might have but that was OK by me. It made the whole experience better to have her beside, well actually a bit behind, me.

Today's run was Number 3 of week 2. It will be the last time I run in WA for a while since I'm heading out to TX and MN tomorrow. Won't be back home until Monday the 23rd. Running in the heat of Texas and the mind melting humidity of MN is going to present a new challenge. I'll be running as early in the morning in TX as possible in order to avoid the 100+ temps they have been having recently. The trip also means that Tally won't be running with me for a while since she will be having her own vacation at my mom's house. Hopefully we will be able to get right back into it when I return.

The other thing that made it easier to run with Tally today is that she got a final clean bill of health from the cancer vet on August 3rd. The first time I ran with her I had this nagging thought that there might be something wrong. That she might be sick and I just didn't know it. I'm sure I'll still always stress a bit that she might have another health set back but for now that thought is a bit less nagging. She's fine. We're both fine. And we just might be getting better every day.

Off to pack for my trip. Oh look and the sun is coming out too. I think today is going to be a really great day.

Getting off the couch

My brother mentioned a while ago that we should start running. We had been commiserating about how flabby, fat and lazy we've been feeling. Since he mentioned it, I've been thinking about it a lot. Yesterday he texted me saying that we start Tuesday which is his next day off. I quickly agreed.

Since mid-June I've been tracking my weight (using an iPhone app called TargetWeight) trying to get down to a weight that would make me feel better in my clothes and make my shorts fit over my rear. So far I'm down 7 pounds but have hit a wall, weighing in at the same exact weight for the past 4 days!!

I've read about a lot of people doing the Couch to 5K program, so I found an app for my iPhone that would "walk" me through it. Brother couldn't start today because of work but I was itching to get going. First, I needed running shoes (oh and that iPhone app). Off to DSW I went. Tried on several pairs with each one feeling better than the previous. Decided on a pair of Asics GEL-Kahana 4's. They felt great.

Tonight instead of our normal evening walk I took Tally on my first "C25K" workout. It was so great! I loved it. It was definitely hard but I always knew that I just had to make it to the next interval. Since the intervals are so short it never got overwhelming. And with the app watching out for me I didn't have to worry about timing or anything, I just had to run and walk. The app also lets you create a play list to listen to while running, a perfect distraction!

Another distraction and the big bummer was that Tally couldn't keep up during the runs. Since we were running in an enclosed area and I knew she probably wouldn't run off, I let her off leash for the last few intervals so I wasn't dragging her along to the finish. Poor girl, we are both so out of shape. It also took her a pretty long time to recover when we got home. I'm not sure what to do about it. Should I keep pushing her to go along? Should I leave her home? Ugh so stressful. She's got her last post-Cancer check-up on Tuesday which is my next running day so I don't have to worry about it until Thursday. I'd really like it if she could do this with me. Perhaps a call to her regular vet is in order.

Here's hoping that I stick with this. If today is any indication I'm actually going to like it.

And then there were 20

Finished reading book 20 a few days ago, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Very easy, quick read. The author is based in Seattle and so is the book. Really fun to read all of the local references. Oh and did I mention that it is told from the point of view of a dog? Did you know that I really like dogs?

It wasn't great but it was a bit of fun.